A CSE report in 2003 resulted in Pepsi and Coca-Cola strenuously rejecting claims that their drinks were unsafe. Soft drinks manufacturers have condemned the latest findings. "Soft drinks are completely safe," the Indian Soft Drink Manufacturers Association (ISDMA) said in a statement on Wednesday. "The soft drinks manufactured in India comply with stringent international norms and all applicable national regulations."

CSE Director Sunita Narain told journalists in Delhi that samples from 12 states showed that Pepsi products contained 30 times more pesticides than found in 2003. Likewise she said that COKE SAMPLES HAD 25 TIMES THE AMOUNT OF PESTICIDES FOUND THREE YEARS AGO. She alleged that despite the public outcry over the issue following the first report, the government has failed to set up the necessary quality-control standards for the soft drinks industry. India does not have any purity standards for soft drinks.

They claim an agreement not to axe any jobs had been broken. Total, which owns the plant, said no such agreement was in place. Managers had asked staff to return to work, but late on Thursday confirmed "with regret" hundreds had been sacked. A group have gathered outside the main gates of the Lindsey refinery, waving placards in protest.

A Unite spokesman said: "We are extremely concerned about the ramifications of the employers' actions. We are urging all parties to get back around the negotiating table to resolve this situation." GMB general secretary Paul Kenney backed the call, saying: "Total have not tried to resolve this dispute, they sought to escalate it and they have sought to victimise people. I'm appealing to Total to actually come to the table and help the unions resolve it."

One of the sacked Lindsey workers told the Press Association: "We are asking for support from workers across the country which I am sure will be given. TOTAL WILL SOON REALISE THEY HAVE UNLEASHED A MONSTER. It is disgraceful that this has happened without any consultation. It is also unlawful and it makes me feel sick."

Hilaire Purbrick, 45, has inhabited the seven-foot cave he dug on his plot and dined off the land for the past 16 years. But after having the dwelling checked by the fire brigade, Brighton and Hove City Council decided IT DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH EXITS and sought an injunction banning him from entering it.

Mr Purbrick ignored the order and continued to live in the cave, but was pulled back into court on Tuesday when a judge granted the council a possession order which will allow him to be formally evicted and banned indefinitely from the site.

MR PURBRICK NOW PLANS TO TAKE HIS FIGHT TO THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS, claiming his right to a private life and freedom has been breached by the order. "I am still living there and intend to continue to do so," he said. "I know lots of people in this town who live in houses with only one door with no fire exit."

Lord Judge, the Lord Chief Justice, made legal history on Thursday by allowing the trial of the four men, ALLEGED TO HAVE STOLEN £1.7 MILLION, to be heard solely by a judge. The case relating to the February 2004 armed hold-up of a Heathrow depot HAS ALREADY COST TAXPAYERS £24 MILLION and has been beset by problems with trials collapsing on three previous occasions .

A fourth trial will now go ahead without a jury, using new powers brought in by legislation six years ago. It will be the first time since a court and jury system was formally established in England and Wales. Lord Judge, sitting in the Court of Appeal on Thursday, gave the go ahead despite accepting trial by jury is a "hallowed principle" of the administration of criminal justice.

Civil rights campaigners warned the ruling set a "DANGEROUS PRECEDENT". Prosecutors have so far failed to secure any convictions against those suspected of carrying out the 2004 heist, over the course of three Old Bailey trials. Isabella Sankey, director of policy at Liberty, commented on the ruling: "This is a dangerous precedent. What signal do we send to witnesses if the police can't even protect juries?" A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said: "This case shows that defendants who abuse their right to jury trial by embarking on jury tampering will not succeed in defeating justice."

The sources said the leaders reached agreement at a summit in Brussels, one day after US President Barack Obama unveiled what he called the most sweeping reform of US financial supervision since the 1930s. "There is deal in principle on the supervision deal," said a source in the EU presidency, which is held by the Czech Republic until the end of this month.

The EU proposals involve creating three pan-European watchdogs next year to ensure countries introduce new rules on supervision, and a new European Systemic Risk Board that would monitor the build-up of risks to stability. It was not immediately clear whether other EU leaders had addressed British concerns over some aspects of the reforms.

London wants to ensure its national regulator keeps its power to steer the financial services sector, which is crucial to Britain's economy, and opposes plans for the European Central Bank to run the European Systemic Risk Board permanently. Signalling that London could give ground on the ECB role if it won assurances on the national regulator's powers, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said before the summit: "I think the principles matter more than the individuals."

Iran's most influential body has said it is investigating 646 complaints from the three defeated candidates. THEY SAY THERE WAS WIDESPREAD FRAUD IN THE 12 JUNE POLL which re-elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with almost two-thirds of the vote. The Guardian Council has invited the three challengers to talks on Saturday.

Mr Mousavi had called supporters to take to the streets wearing black in memory of those shot by members of the pro-government Basij volunteer militia on Monday. The protesters heeded the call, waving black banners and holding aloft placards asking, "Why did you kill our brothers?" Some banners carried pictures of the dead.

The opposition leader attended the rally, wearing a black shirt and suit. He addressed the crowds through a loudspeaker, with loud chants of support breaking the general silence. Press TV, the English-language version of Iranian state television, reported that the address was brief and that Mr Mousavi called for calm and restraint.

"WE SUPPORT COMPASSION EVEN FOR THE MOST CURIOUS, SMALLEST AND LEAST SYMPATHETIC ANIMALS," PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich said Wednesday. "We believe that people, where they can be compassionate, should be, for all animals." During an interview for CNBC at the White House on Tuesday, a fly intruded on Obama's conversation with correspondent John Harwood.

"Get out of here," the president told the pesky insect. When it didn't, he waited for the fly to settle, put his hand up and then smacked it dead. "Now, where were we?" Obama asked Harwood. Then he added: "That was pretty impressive, wasn't it? I got the sucker."

The agency's monitoring of domestic e-mail messages, in particular, has posed longstanding legal and logistical difficulties, the officials said. Since April, when it was disclosed that the intercepts of SOME PRIVATE COMMUNICATIONS OF AMERICANS WENT BEYOND LEGAL LIMITS in late 2008 and early 2009, several Congressional committees have been investigating. Those inquiries have led to concerns in Congress about the agency's ability to collect and read domestic e-mail messages of Americans on a widespread basis, officials said.

Supporting that conclusion is the account of a former NSA analyst who, in a series of interviews, described being trained in 2005 for a program in which THE AGENCY ROUTINELY EXAMINED LARGE VOLUMES OF AMERICANS' E-MAIL MESSAGES WITHOUT COURT WARRANTS. Two intelligence officials confirmed that the program was still in operation. Both the former analyst's account and the rising concern among some members of Congress about the NSA's recent operation are raising fresh questions about the spy agency.

Representative Rush Holt, Democrat of New Jersey and chairman of the House Select Intelligence Oversight Panel, has been investigating the incidents and said he had become increasingly troubled by the agency's handling of domestic communications. In an interview, Mr. Holt disputed assertions by Justice Department and national security officials that the overcollection was inadvertent. "SOME ACTIONS ARE SO FLAGRANT THAT THEY CAN'T BE ACCIDENTAL," Mr. Holt said.

Speaking after a meeting with Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev in the Kazakh capital Astana, Lula called on THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY TO SEIZE ON THE CRISIS TO CREATE A FAIRER WORLD FOR DEVELOPING NATIONS. "I want to say that before the crisis, there were many countries which had greater significance than others, and some countries which had no significance at all," he said through a translator.

"AFTER THE CRISIS, EVERYONE HAS BECOME SIMILAR. WE HAVE THE POSSIBILITY TO CREATE A NEW WORLD ORDER AND TOGETHER WE SHOULD IMPROVE OUR RELATIONS." Lula arrived in Kazakhstan Wednesday following the first-ever summit between fellow developing economic powerhouses Russia, India and China - together with Brazil dubbed the BRIC nations - in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. Nazarbayev, head of Central Asia's largest economy, is keen to secure a larger role for his government in world affairs.

Following up on Lula's call, the pair said in a statement following their meeting that THE UNITED NATIONS SHOULD OPEN UP THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL TO DEVELOPING NATIONS in an effort to bolster global security. They said that opening the organisation, which only has five permanent members, to wider membership was the only way to make the often-criticised body "more legitimate and effective."

Libyan media have spoken of between one and three fatalities. "The situation is under control. We are leading a massive campaign to clean up and disinfect the place," said Hijazi, explaining that the illness was caused by rising rat numbers attracted by livestock being reared near homes. He said cowsheds had been destroyed and a foreign pest control firm sent to eradicate the rats, IN AN OPERATION TO BE SUPERVISED BY A WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO) representative and a French expert.

Hijazi said the illness had previously hit Libya in the 1970s and 1980s. The plague is "primarily a disease of rodents and their fleas, which can infect humans. It is transmitted between rodents by rodent fleas, and can be transmitted to people when infected rodent fleas bite them," according to WHO. "Plague is a very severe disease in people, with case fatality rates of 50-60 percent if left untreated."

He has no rival - and even has backing from some centre-left leaders. The summit follows European elections which saw a general swing to the right and some gains for Eurosceptics. EU LEADERS ARE ANXIOUS TO DRAW A LINE UNDER THE LISBON TREATY DEBATE. But there has been much wrangling over the legal guarantees that the Irish government requires in order to put the Lisbon Treaty to a second referendum, likely to be held in October.

The referendum is crucial to the treaty's future. It is probably the last big hurdle, as nearly all the 27 member states have now ratified it, though the British Conservatives' pledge to hold a referendum, if elected, has made this a race against time. A second Irish "No" vote, like the one a year ago, would be deeply humiliating for EU leaders. They have spent years working on the institutional changes they deem necessary to make the enlarged bloc perform efficiently.

The guarantees - essentially assurances to voters - are to be made specific to the Republic of Ireland and robust enough to resist any legal challenge in the EU. ABOVE ALL, THE LEADERS WANT TO CLOSE ANY LEGAL LOOPHOLE THAT COULD BE USED TO REOPEN THE LISBON TREATY NEGOTIATIONS.

TG-Gold-Super-Markt aims to introduce the machines at 500 locations including train stations and airports in Germany. The company, based near Stuttgart, hopes to tap into THE INCREASING INTEREST IN BUYING GOLD following disillusionment in other investments due to the economic downturn.

Gold prices from the machines – about 30 per cent higher than market prices for the cheapest product – will be updated every few minutes. Customers using a prototype "Gold to go" machine at Frankfurt Airport on Tuesday had the choice of purchasing a 1g wafer of gold for €30, a 10g bar for €245, or gold coins. A CAMERA ON THE MACHINE MONITORS TRANSACTIONS FOR MONEY LAUNDERING CONTROLS.

Thomas Geissler, who owns the company behind the idea, said: "GERMAN INVESTORS HAVE ALWAYS PREFERRED TO HOLD A LOT OF PERSONAL WEALTH IN GOLD, FOR HISTORICAL REASONS. THEY HAVE TWICE LOST EVERYTHING. Gold is a good thing to have in your pocket in uncertain times." Interest in gold has risen during the financial crisis, particularly in Germany, according to GFMS, the London-based precious metals consultancy. Retail demand reached an estimated 108 tonnes in 2008, up from 36 tonnes in 2007 and 28 tonnes in 2006.

Sandra Davis - High Priestess at the Crystal Cauldron - had reserved Our Lady's Social Club in Shaw Heath, Stockport for her Pagan group's Annual Witches' Ball. But when she rang to make payment arrangements she was told the event could not be held there and - despite already having printed tickets - another venue must be found.

Sandra, of Bridge Hall, set up the Crystal Cauldron as a pagan meeting place and hopes to turn it into a temple. This year's ball was planned for October and Sandra agreed to hire the social club for £175. But the Reverend John Joyce, from the Diocese of Shrewsbury, said there was no way the event could go ahead.

"Parish centres under our auspices let their premises on the understanding users and their organisations are compatible with the ethos and teachings of the Catholic church," he said. "In this instance, we aren't satisfied such requirements are met."

The Pinellas Hope camp, 250 single-person tents in neat rows on land owned by the Catholic Diocese of St Petersburg in a wooded area north of the city, has room for about 270 and has been filled to capacity since it opened two years ago. "I COULD OPEN THE GATES AND HAVE OVER 500 PEOPLE," said Sheila Lopez, the chief operating officer for Catholic Charities at the St Petersburg diocese. The camp has a food hall, bathrooms and showers, a laundry room and a few computers for residents to look for jobs and prepare resumes. "This is a great place to be. It gives us a great opportunity," said Alex, a resident who declined to give his last name. "We have a safe place to live. It sure beats sleeping on the street."

TENT CITIES HAVE SPROUTED ACROSS THE UNITED STATES and advocates believe they could represent the leading edge of a wave of homelessness in the coming months as US unemployment, nearing 10 percent, rises. "I don't think we've begun to see the end of it. I think the challenges remain significant and they remain in front of us," said Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, where calls to a homeless hotline have quadrupled in the last year.

Asked about the proliferation of tent cities at a news conference in March, US President Barack Obama said it was "NOT ACCEPTABLE FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES TO BE WITHOUT A ROOF OVER THEIR HEADS IN A COUNTRY AS WEALTHY AS OURS." He cited his jobs programs and spending on infrastructure as ways of combating the problem.

Experiments on rats fed falcarinol have shown they develop fewer tumours. The Newcastle University study will be presented at NutrEvent, a conference on nutrition and health, to be held in France. Lead researcher Dr Kirsten Brandt, from Newcastle University's School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, said: "Chopping up your carrots increases the surface area so more of the nutrients leach out into the water while they are cooked. By keeping them whole and chopping them up afterwards you are locking in nutrients and the taste, so the carrot is better for you all round." The Newcastle scientist, along with colleagues at the University of Denmark, discovered the health benefits of falcarinol in carrots four years ago.

Since then the scientists in Newcastle have been studying what happens when carrots are chopped and cooked. The latest findings show that when carrots are heated, the heat kills the cells, so they lose the ability to hold on to the water inside them, increasing the concentration of falcarinol as the carrots lose water. However, the heat also softens the cell walls, allowing water-soluble compounds such as sugar and vitamin C to be lost via the surface of the tissue, leading to the leaching out of other compounds such as falcarinol. If the carrot is cut before being boiled, the surface area becomes much greater - and so the loss of nutrients is increased.

Dr Brandt added that in blind taste studies the whole carrots also tasted much better. Eight of ten people favoured the whole vegetables over those that were pre-chopped. This is because the naturally occurring sugars which are responsible for giving the carrot its distinctively sweet flavour were also found in higher concentrations in the carrot that had been cooked whole. Dr Brandt said: "The great thing about this is it's a simple way for people to increase their uptake of a compound we know is good for you. All you need is a bigger saucepan."